CSR initiatives of Union Assurance General create positive impact

Saturday, 21 March 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Union Assurance General Limited (UAG) the recently segregated arm of Union Assurance is now a part of a global family. With Canadian based company Fairfax Asia Ltd acquiring a majority stake of 78%, the new partner is expected to bring in a wealth of knowledge and experience into the UAG operations. Anchored by a vibrant team of highly experienced professionals, a strong capital base and now a global partner, UAG is set to excel within the industry. The society centric activities initiated by UAG are intended to create a communal sense of trust towards their brand, i.e. specifically speaking, walking the line of ‘Trust in your tomorrow, today’. Creating a safer and better tomorrow is the core objective of the UAG CSR campaigns which are conducted in partnership with the Sri Lanka Police and the National Council for Road Safety. UAG has consistently educated the general public on road rules/regulations and creating safer roads, thereby enhancing the level of safety amongst rural communities. According to statistics via the Sri Lanka Police, sharp rises in the number of deaths resulting from road accidents were reported early last year. In order to minimise these occurrences UAG along with the Sri Lanka Police conducted numerous educational programs in Monaragala, Jaffna, Hambantota etc. targeting school children, bus drivers, van drivers and motorbike drivers. UAG Manager – Marketing Rajiv David stated, “The sole purpose of these programs is to facilitate the creation of safer roads and bring about a positive change among communities, as we at Union Assurance General are keen to safeguard our stakeholders.” Consequently, these awareness programs led to a gradual reduction in the number of road accidents reported towards the end of 2014. Along the same note, special programs are conducted for school traffic wardens as well. After completion of these programs, Union Assurance General issues participants a certificate endorsed by the Sri Lanka Police as Certified Traffic Wardens. Out of 13,000 students who participated at these programs, 2,871 were awarded traffic warden vests and issued a certificate by the Sri Lanka Police, endorsing them as official school traffic wardens. Furthermore, over 300 Crime Prevention Hoardings were erected/installed island-wide, with the primary aim of reducing overall crime rates. These hoardings carried phone numbers of the local police, emergency contact numbers, as well as details of which particular police jurisdiction motorists/travellers are in. National Council for Road Safety Secretary Chathura Umaginiya expressed his views on the campaigns saying, “We primarily work towards minimising the number of road accidents that occur and we are proud to be working closely with Union Assurance General in this regard.” Another Safety campaign directed at actively preventing/reducing the number of accidents involving bicycles on the roads is also underway. Under this initiative UAG takes a lead role in installing reflector lights on pushbikes with approximately 760 pushbike travellers already benefiting from this program. Since recent times expressway safety was also made a priority, with safety awareness programs conducted for users of the Southern Expressway and the Colombo-Katunayaka Expressway. Road safety awareness programs were also conducted for bus drivers in the Western Province to reduce the number of accidents that occur as a result of negligence and misconduct. The company aims to carry this program to other provinces in 2015. Union Assurance General’s expressed goal of trust creation is based on their overall ethos of building and delivering transparency, respectfulness and convenience to all its stakeholders. Basing their CSR Strategy on ensuring of safer roads is proof of their commitment to ensuring the safety of the general public to safeguard their tomorrow.

Rajiv David